Independent Shorts Awards

Violation

A drunk, troubled father takes the law into his own hands. He confines a man in his auto shop who has molested his daughter. His plan is to kill the violator. When his wife gets wind of what is happening she calls the shop, frantically trying to convince the father, whom she declares is, “…once again drunk off your ass!”, to stop what he is planning and come home. The father will have none of it. When his daughter enters the picture, however, the story and the father’s plans take a strange, ugly turn — with deadly consequences.
Directed by Ray DiZazzo (USA)

The Boy With The Teddy

A young boy runs alone with his teddy bear in his arms through the city and meets on his way a young man who takes him into his apartment…
Directed by Alessandro Schuster (Germany)

Heart Burn

A pyromaniac falls for a girl who is afraid of fire after they are paired up in group therapy.
Directed by Christina Corcoran (USA)

Navigate

A man on the verge of a quarter-life crisis is told that his wife is cheating on him… by his car’s GPS unit.
Directed by Nilendra Fonseka (Australia)

Escape

Kayla and Jesse escape the city life by responding to a house sitting ad in the country. Now, they must escape something much more terrifying.
Directed by Daniel G. Ross II (USA)

Ur Mines

On a single day in London, a jaded saxophone player and a frustrated photographer make a seemingly random (or is it?) connection as they bond over their common artistic and personal struggles.
Directed by Jeff Lucky (USA)

Simon Says

Simon Salas, an outcast high school student who believes he’s schizophrenic because he can hear the voice of his own shadow. He’s bullied at school because he’s different. He’s in denial regarding his shadow and takes medicine to get rid of the voices. One day when he’s getting beaten up in the school’s bathroom by his classmates he will finally accept his power and let them save him from the bullies.
Directed by Katherin Hussein (USA)

Blue Toes

“Blue Toes” is a story that fights to break the rules of gender normative behavior between kids. It follows a young boy named Mickey, who is teased for liking things boys usually don’t like. In the beginning, we establish that Mickey does not have many friends, and is often alone. The one place where he feels accepted is after school with his swim team. He is one of the best swimmers on the team and feels a part of the group. Mickey also has an older sister that helps him express himself whether it be through trying different kinds of makeup or throwing on an old dress of hers. The point of the story is to show that kids should be accepted, no matter what their interests are, regardless of their gender.
Directed by Isobella Antelis (USA)

Ghost BFF

A dark comedy, that follows two women, one alive, one dead, across space, time, and the suburbs, as they struggle to find themselves and right past wrongs following a suicide.
Directed by Lindsay MacKay (Canada)

Patagónia: The Tip Of The World

Perhaps one of the most extreme examples of the awe-inspiring beauty that can be found on this earth. Though seemingly invincible and stronger than the millennia that have shaped it, this towering example of stern serenity is under threat.
Directed by Paulo Ferreira (Portugal)

Hunter

Set in the old west, this story revolves around a bounty hunter with a troubled past who has his own humanity restored through an unlikely encounter with a bandit and his daughter.
Directed by Shashank Varma (India)